Three Things from the Seahawks’ loss to Green Bay

This isn’t a search for silver linings in Seattle’s 0-2 start, but a look for the greater significance. The Seahawks were one of five teams in the league to start the season with back-to-back road games. Three of those teams are 0-2, including the Ravens, a team forecasted by many to be every bit as much of a contender as Seattle.

So what’s gone wrong for the Seahawks? And more importantly, why?

Recap | Defense didn’t finish | Carroll disputes call | Knee-jerk reactions | Photos

Three things we learned:

1. Jimmy Graham’s integration into Seattle’s offense won’t be seamless.

This shouldn’t be a shock. There’s a 10-year history in Seattle spanning three head coaches of high-profile receiver additions failing to produce immediate dividends. It was true for Nate Burleson and for Deion Branch under Mike Holmgren and for Zach Miller, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin under Pete Carroll. After two games, the surprise isn’t that Graham isn’t catching the ball at the same rate he was in New Orleans. After all, this is Seattle, which throws the ball less than any team in the league. But the fact that Seattle hasn’t looked to him to jumpstart an offense that scored a total of one touchdown in its first six quarters is surprising. If Seattle’s offense is going to be even average this season, the connection between Wilson and Graham must improve.

2. The Seahawks’ defense might be the deeper concern at this point.

The Seahawks have held a fourth-quarter lead in each of the past two games, and they’ve lost in each of those games. Now, it’s not like a late lead was an automatic victory over the past two years. Seattle has held a fourth-quarter lead in losses at Indianapolis, at San Francisco and at Kansas City over the previous two seasons. But given the changes along Seattle’s offensive line, it’s understandable why the Seahawks’ offense is slipping its gears early in this season. It’s less understandable why a defense that even with Kam Chancellor’s holdout returns eight of 11 starters has been unable to close out either game it has played so far this season. Seattle forced Green Bay to punt just once in the second half of Sunday’s game.

3. Seattle has no wiggle room the next two weeks.

Two victories to open the season wouldn’t have guaranteed Seattle anything. Neither does a couple of road losses. NFL seasons are like a playoff series in the NBA in that they don’t really get interesting until a team loses at home. But with Seattle set to host two opponents that are currently 0-2 in Chicago and then Detroit, it’s hard to see Seattle rebounding to reach the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season if they don’t get back to 2-2.

Three things we’re still trying to figure out:

1. Where has Seattle’s power run game gone?

Of all the different facts from Sunday’s game, the most concerning was that a Green Bay defense that yielded 141 yards to Chicago’s Matt Forte in Week 1 allowed only 41 to Marshawn Lynch. If the Seahawks can’t run the ball any better than that, get ready for a lot of smoke and mirrors from their offense this year. It’s tempting to harken back to a day when the Seahawks simply would run over opponents from start to finish. It would also be erroneous. Under Carroll, the Seahawks have been about grinding down opponents, the tough yards early in the game yielding bigger runs later as the opponent wears down. In each of the past two games, the Seahawks changed offensive course at halftime, accelerating the tempo in St. Louis and throwing the ball more at Green Bay. Does that signify a lack of faith in getting fourth-quarter returns from the ground game or is it a recognition that this offensive line is a work in progress? If Seattle can’t get back to wearing opponents out, you’re going to see Seattle constantly playing games with scores in the 20s and the 30s.

2. Why is the Seahawks’ run defense sagging?

When the Seahawks play their best, opponents simply can’t run on the ball on them. That’s a truth that goes all the way back to Carroll’s first season in town when the Seahawks started 4-2 behind a stout run defense that eroded under the weight of injuries along the defensive line. But so far this season, the Seahawks have faced a pair of backup running backs and have been gouged each time whether it was St. Louis’ third-stringer, Benny Cunningham, or Packers backup James Starks. And if the key to the decline of Seattle’s run defense is the absence of a punishingly physical strong safety, well, the front seven of this defense isn’t nearly as good as advertised or expected.

3. Where did Frank Clark go?

He has been on the field. He just hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet yet. Through two games, he hasn’t had so much as a tackle, which is a surprise considering the impact he had both at defensive end and even at defensive tackle during the preseason. Now, that was a different time of year, and he was often going against the lower levels of an opponent’s depth chart, but Clark is capable of contributing more than he has. Maybe a couple of games at home will give him the jumpstart he needs.

Related

Jason Kanzler shares what to expect from him as Mariners managerMike Holmgren among 5 coaching candidates for Pro Football Hall of FameMariners’ Randy Arozarena named Silver Slugger finalistWhat was different for Mariners in this manager searchMatty Beniers’ OT goal lifts Kraken past Flames 2-1Jason Kanzler ready to ‘ride the lightning’ as Mariners’ new manager